


Grace Hargreeves and her seven kids

by ceo_of_stupid



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Family Bonding, Five is short for Feivel, Fluff, Good Parent Grace Hargreeves, Good Sibling Allison Hargreeves, Good Sibling Ben Hargreeves, Good Sibling Diego Hargreeves, Good Sibling Klaus Hargreeves, Good Sibling Luther Hargreeves, Good Sibling Number Five | The Boy, Good Sibling Vanya Hargreeves, Hargreeves Siblings - Freeform, Human Dolores (Umbrella Academy), Kidfic, Klave, No Apocalypse (Umbrella Academy), They deserve a healthy childhood, Young Umbrella Academy, yeah you heard me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:35:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23700172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceo_of_stupid/pseuds/ceo_of_stupid
Summary: Au where grace is a human woman who adopts seven kids and raises them and they have normal healthy childhoods because it’s what they deserve
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves & Everyone, Ben Hargreeves & Everyone, Dave/Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Everyone, Dolores & Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy), Grace Hargreeves & Everyone, Klaus Hargreeves & Everyone, Luther Hargreeves & Everyone, Number Five | The Boy & Kenny (Umbrella Academy), Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy) & Everyone, Vanya Hargreeves & Everyone
Comments: 51
Kudos: 258





	1. Chapter 1

Grace hargreeves was twenty five years old when she received the news that Reginald Hargreeves, a distant relative whom she had never met, had passed away. The most interesting part of this was that he had written her into his will, and left her a considerable amount of money.  
She had never been interested in getting married, nor did she want to travel the world and live in extreme luxury. What Grace wanted was to be a mother.  
“That’s ridiculous.”  
People said.   
“Wasting a fortune on raising some snot nosed brat.”  
She, frankly, did not care. And so Ms. Hargreeves applied for adoption several times, hoping for at least one of the applications to go through. She knew that it would likely take a long time to hear back, and she would probably only have two that were deemed a good fit by social workers. In a stroke of peculiar luck, all of these applications went through.  
She got seven of them.


	2. Nighttime routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s not easy getting all the kids into bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ya’ll IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS IVE GOT SO MANY IDEAS

Trying to get seven six year olds ready for bed was, frankly, a challenge.  
“Mommy, I got toothpaste on me!”  
Grace knelt down and, using a damp paper towel, wiped toothpaste off of Ben’s chin. He was probably the most well behaved of the kids, apart from maybe Vanya. There was shouting from down the hall. “Give it BACK!”  
“COME AND T-TAKE IT!”  
Oh, god.  
“Ben, sweetie, can you run along to your room? I promise I’ll come tuck you in after I deal with your siblings.”  
He nodded and she ruffled his soft black hair before speed walking down the hallway and bracing herself.  
She opened the door to the boy’s bedroom to see two children wrestling on the floor while another watched from his bed.  
“Give it back or I’m gonna lick you!”  
Oh, Klaus. He was the most talkative, and the hardest to get ready in the morning due in large part to his wild curls that never seemed to lie flat, and his inability to sit still.  
“Mom, Diego took Dr. Pogo and he KNOWS I can’t sleep without him!”  
He whined, pointing an accusatory finger and Diego, who was clutching the stuffed monkey to his chest. Grace lifted Klaus up from his armpits and swung him onto his bed, the bottom bunk with the purple blankets. The boy’s bedroom had two sets of bunk beds, one on either side of the room. Four boys shared the room. Ben was the only one with his own room, because of his sleepwalking issue.  
Diego frowned and tossed Dr. Pogo at Klaus, shaking his small fist in the air.  
“Here! Ta-ake your d-dumb monkey.”  
Five gasped from the top bunk above Klaus.  
“Diego! That’s a naughty word!”  
Five, of course, wasn’t his real name. Grace would never name one of her kids after a number. It was Fievel. But that was a tricky name for little kids to say, especially for Diego. It had been Klaus who had first nicknamed him Five, and it just stuck.  
“Diego, sweetie, can you climb up to your bunk? I know you’re upset with Klaus but mommy’s had a long day.”  
Five looked at her inquisitively, the way he always did when he was thinking.  
“Mommy, are you drinking enough water? That could be the issue.”  
Five was very smart for a little boy, and sometimes his suggestions were a little too on the mark.  
“Fivey, go to sleep.”  
He shrugged before nestling himself underneath the covers.  
Exhausted, Grace noticed that the bed underneath Diego’s was empty. She dashed out the door and down around the corner. Where is he? Did he go to the backyard again to look at the moon? I thought I set up a child lock...  
She passed a door that was open a crack. She peeked inside to see her two daughters conversing calmly with Luther, all three sitting on Vanya’s bed. Grace sighed in relief.  
“Hi mommy.” Allison chirped. Luther waved, smiling.  
“It’s time for bed, kiddo.” She said, taking Luther by the hand and steering him back to his room. He was wearing his favorite pajamas, the ones with the spaceship on them. When she opened the door, Diego, Fivey, and Klaus all snapped up to look at her, as if they had been discussing something suspicious. She paid no attention to it, only stopping to say goodnight and turn on the night light.  
Grace turned the corner to the girl’s room. The walls were painted a soft pink, with little butterfly decals. There were two beds, and in between them a shared nightstand. On any given night it was probably the most peaceful room in the Hargreeves house.  
“Mommy, we’re twins, aren’t we? Allison and me?” Vanya asked. Grace smiled. All her children were the same age, but the girls had this unique desire to be matching whenever they could. They wore the same nightgowns, except Vanya’s was pink and Allison’s purple. They had their own little handshake, and the two were practically attached at the hip.  
“Yes, of course you’re twins!”  
Vanya beamed. Grace sat on the end of her bed and brushed Vanya’s long silky hair away from her face. Her bangs were getting a little long, she made a mental note to get her a haircut.  
Allison gestured for her mom to come sit with her and giggled when Grace gave her a big hug.  
“Goodnight girls.” She said, flicking the light switch off.  
By the time Grace got to Ben’s room, he was fast asleep. She tiptoed down stairs and collapsed on the couch, exhausted.  
It was a lot of work, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave your feedback it definitely helps


	3. The Zoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids are seven and Grace takes them to the zoo. Not a single braincell was used in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These will be better as time goes on I promise 😔 also I’m planning on doing a chapter per age so like next chapter will be a one shot about them being eight years old, but I think I’m gonna play around with it. I’m just excited to write them as teenagers, that’s when it’ll get funny.

Luther awoke suddenly to the sensation of a pillow hitting his face.  
“Diego, you’re the worst!” He mumbled, half awake. Someone pulled the covers off of him before he could go back to sleep.  
“Wake up, are you alive? Jeez!” Five cried.  
Luther sat up and rubbed his eyes furiously. His brothers, he decided, were the most annoying people on the face of the planet. No, not Ben, he thought to himself.  
“Come on, its time to get up! We’re going to the z-...to the zoo today!”  
Luther sprang out of bed in excitement. “Here, wear this.” Diego said, chucking a T-shirt at him.   
When the Hargreeves family went out on day trips, their mom dressed them all in the same brightly colored shirts with their names written on the inside collar. That way, if one of them were to get lost in a crowd, Grace would have an easier time finding them. Today’s color was bright orange.   
“Everyone is downstairs having breakfast, s-so hurry up before the rest of us share your pancake.”  
Diego and Five dashed out of the room, Luther close behind. The three boys stumbled down the staircase of the large house.   
Klaus was sliding around the kitchen in his socks, bothering Grace, who was making breakfast at the stove.   
At the table, Ben chattered away about the penguins he hoped to see, eyes glittering in excitement.   
Vanya’s long hair was plaited evenly in two pigtail braids, and she was standing on the step stool in the bathroom, admiring them in the mirror.   
Five and Allison were together in the playroom, using her glitter gel pens that she refused to share with anyone but him and Vanya.   
Diego was trying to tell Luther all about his dream last night, but he was stuck stuttering over the tricky syllables.  
“Breakfast!” Grace shouted. The seven kids stopped what they were doing and came rushing to take a seat at the big round table. Each one of them was passed a pancake.  
“Klaus, be careful with that.” Grace warned him, as he drowned his plate in syrup. Five took a sip of orange juice and grimaced; he hated the pulp. He passed his cup to Allison, who gulped it down quickly. For a moment, there was no conversation, only the clinking of glasses and silverware, and the occasional contented hum.   
And then all seven children started to speak at once.   
It would be easy for Grace to brush this off as annoying, but she remembered her own childhood, with strict parents and hardly any mealtime conversation. She wanted to do better than that.   
“Are we going to the zoo today?”  
She nodded and they looked at each other excitedly. Once they had finished eating she cleared her throat for attention. 

“One two three, eyes on me!” She said, and they looked up.  
“We’re gonna be on our best behavior today, right? We’re gonna stick together and not get lost, and remember Benny if you’re thirsty you should tell someone so that you don’t get dizzy.”  
Ben nodded emphatically.  
“And if we get lost, what do we do?” She prompted.  
“Go to the help desk and wait.” Seven voices responded in unison. Grace smiled at them. The kids got up and started clearing their plates at the sink while Diego rambled on about the dream he had, Vanya listening attentively.  
The children lined up in front of their mom and one by one she put a dab of sunscreen on their smiling faces, and a hat on their heads to protect from the sun.  
Getting everyone into the large minivan that Ben had dubbed the Hargreeves Mobile was the easy part. Getting everything settled was another story.  
“Did you all use the bathroom? I don’t want to make any stops.”  
“Yes, mommy.”  
“Why do I have to sit next to Luther?”  
“Shut up, Klaus!” Luther retorted.  
“Yeah, shut up Klaus!”  
“Vanya, how come you’re on his side!” “The volume in this car is ASTRONOMICAL!”  
“Five, nobody knows what that means!” Ben whined.  
Grace sighed and pulled out of the driveway, turning on the radio. The bickering stopped almost instantly.  
“What’s this song called?” Allison asked.  
“It’s called, ‘I think we’re alone now.’”  
Grace said with a half smile.   
Diego sighed dramatically. “I wish I was alone now!”  
It was all Grace could do to keep from bursting into laughter.  
When they arrived, the first order of business was to figure out where the penguin exhibit was located. Ben loved penguins, and had managed to convert his siblings on the car ride over.  
Five had a map, somehow.  
“We’re gonna make a left here.”  
He said, holding out his hands to make sure he had his right and left in order.  
The kids all ran into the room to watch the penguins through the glass as they dove into water. Grace laughed and hung back around other parents.  
“It’s so nice of you to bring your child’s friends!” Said one woman with a comically large purse. Grace laughed politely.   
“No, actually, they’re all mine.”  
A few of the other parents stared at her in disbelief, before turning around and going back to minding their own business. She rolled her eyes.  
“Mommy! I’m thirsty!” Ben said. Grace fished a bottle of water out of her bag and handed it to Luther, who unscrewed the cap and passed it to Ben.  
“I’m gonna get a penguin someday.”  
Allison announced, and her siblings murmured in agreement. Grace checked her watch. She knew her kids well enough to know when they needed to eat, and nobody wanted to deal with a crowd of cranky seven year olds.   
“Let’s take a lunch break.”  
There was a moment when they were getting seated on benches and passing out sandwiches, just a few minutes where Grace looked away, but apparently that was all it took for two to go missing.  
Luther waded through the crowd of people, getting knocked around slightly as he weaved around people’s knees. It’s very easy to get lost when you’re seven years old. But he needed to find Diego!  
“I saw him go this way..” Luther whispered to himself, feeling more anxious now. Which way had he come from? He was surrounded by unfamiliar faces. Oh no, his mom was gonna forget him at the zoo! He just needed to find Diego.   
The boy in question was staring into a fountain, debating something intensely. He jumped in surprise when he heard his name called. What was Luther doing here?  
“Did you follow me?” He asked. Luther shrugged. “I didn’t know what you were doing. So what are you doing?”  
Diego pointed to the fountain and both boys leaned over the short wall, staring into the water. The tiled floor was covered in glittering coins.   
“I want a q-..a quarter for the gum ball machine.” Diego said, and Luther nodded firmly. Gum balls, or candy of any kind, were serious business to the Hargreeves children. Eventually they resorted to Diego leaning down over the water while Luther held his ankles.  
“Grab me one, will you?”  
“Fine, just lower m-me down more.”  
“Can you hurry? My arms hurt!”  
“This is as fast as it’s gonna get, Luther.”  
“But I-“  
And then with a terrific splashing noise, Diego fell in, dragging Luther with him.  
The thing with having seven children, Grace found out, was that when two of them wandered off, and you needed to go looking for them, you had to do something with the other five. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Grace mentally ran through which one of her kids was most likely to go on a power trip and micromanage. It was what the situation called for, after all.  
“Allison, you’re in charge until I get back. Everyone sit tight, okay?”  
Within minutes, Allison was shouting at everyone to keep still, Five was going absolutely postal at the thought of losing a brother, Ben was confused, and Vanya had her head in her hands.   
Klaus just sat back and watched the chaos. His brothers would be fine, he knew they would. Sure, they’d get in trouble with mom, but it’s not like they weren’t coming back. Just as Klaus was about to voice this opinion, Grace returned, dragging Luther and Diego by the elbows, water dripping from their soggy clothes.  
“What happened!? And WHY are you soaking wet?”  
“T-took the fish for a walk.” Diego said, a grin plastered on his wet face. Luther shivered and tried to shrug off Five, who was hugging him and rambling something about “I thought I LOST you..”  
Vanya rolled her eyes and shot a smirk at Klaus, who winked back at her. Typical day trip with the Hargreeves family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come hang with me on tumblr!   
> @tua-koffee  
> I have one other fic going rn, it’s a chatfic, so go check that out 🤪 thanks for reading, everyone!


	4. A Friend for Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five is home alone and bored when he meets someone new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I’m proud of this one I’m not gonna lie 🙈

Five sat at the kitchen counter and stared into his bowl of cereal, that was now more like a bowl of cereal flavored milk. He raised the spoon to his lips and made a face at the sickeningly sweet taste. Clearing his throat, he looked up at the clock. It was only 10:30 in the morning, and the house was deserted except for him. He was  _ bored _ out of his  _ mind _ . Five had six siblings, he wasn’t used to being alone often. 

That was part of why Five hated Saturday mornings.

Mom was with Diego at his speech therapy, Vanya was at violin lessons, Allison was at her performing arts class, Luther and Ben were at little league soccer practice, and Diego and Klaus were off god knows where doing god knows what. All Five knew was that everyone wouldn’t be back ‘till around lunchtime. That was hours from now, and he had nobody to pass the time with.

“I wish I could time travel.” He grumbled, setting his bowl in the sink. If Five could time travel, he’d jump forwards to this afternoon, when all his siblings would be back, and they could all do something fun together. Like play in the yard, or argue.

_ Play in the yard! _

Five grinned as he knelt down to tie his shoes. That was a great idea! The weather was perfect, a sunny day but not too hot.

“Plus,” He said aloud to nobody in particular as he slipped out the door, “Mom isn’t here to stop me from getting messy.”

He almost turned to high five Klaus before he remembered with a sinking feeling that he was, very much, alone in his backyard. Being one of seven meant that he’d gone through life with built in friends, and as much as he hated to admit it, Five didn’t really  _ have _ any friends outside his family.

But that was fine.

Not like he cared, anyways.

Definitely not.

Five squinted up at the bright sky and took a seat in the grass. He stayed like that for a moment, staring into the sun and going nearly blind, willing something to happen.

And it did.

“What are you staring at?”

Startled, Five whipped around to see a stranger standing before him. It was a girl, with bandaids on her knees and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her blonde curls were pulled into pigtails. He stood up from the ground only to find she was still slightly taller than him. Five frowned.

“Where did  _ you _ come from?”

She shrugged, apparently indifferent to his harsh tone. “I live here.”

He scoffed. “No, I live here.” He shot a quick look back over his shoulder and confirmed that yes, it was still his house. The strange girl smiled.

“No, I mean I live next door. I just moved in. So what were you looking at?”

Ignoring her question, Five stared at his feet. He had never been the most socially adept child on the planet.

“I’m Five.”

“Really? I thought you were older. Well, I’m eight.”

“No, I mean my name is Five. I’m eight years old, same as you.”

She shoved her hands in her pockets and pulled out a pack of bubblegum, offering a piece to him. He accepted.

“Well in that case, my name is Dolores.”

Now, normally, you’re not supposed to bring strangers into your home. That’s just a general rule of thumb. But Five figured that Dolores seemed safe enough, and technically she wasn’t a stranger because they had met outside, and what was she gonna do anyways, hit him? He hoped that she wasn’t going to hit him, because he wasn’t very strong. Although, he reasoned as they took their shoes off in the mudroom, it was pretty warm out, and it would be rude to leave her outside.

“Do you have any siblings?” Dolores asked, her eyes flickering over the clutter in the entrance of the house. He laughed; boy did he  _ ever. _

__ “Yeah, six of them.”

Five climbed up onto the counter to pull out two cups for them. As he slid off and made his way to the fridge, he noticed Doloros playing with a toy octopus that had been left on the table.

“Oh, that belongs to Ben, he’s obsessed with octopi.” Five said, pouring two glasses of lemonade.

“Who’s Ben?”

“He’s my brother, he’s gone.”

She froze and dropped the toy. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!”

Five paused for a moment and then burst into laughter. “No! Ben isn’t dead, he’s just out right now! My whole family is. What, did you think I lived alone?”

“I think you could pull it off.” She snickered.

The Hargreeves family lived in a pretty big house in the suburbs, the kind that was perfect for running around in and playing hide and seek and tag. And that’s precisely what they did.

“Five, I’m gonna get you, just wait!” 

She shrieked, chasing after him. He giggled madly and darted out of her grasp. “I’m the master of tag!”

Dolores’s eyebrows shot up as he grinned at her from across the room. “How’d you get over there? I swear it’s like you can teleport!”

She leapt forward and grabbed the soft fabric of his shirt, pulling him down. They collapsed in a heap on the couch, faces red from laughing. 

If anyone had told him that all you had to do to make a friend was go outside and wait for one to drop by, Five would have tried it much sooner.

“Another round?”

“You’re on!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://youtu.be/ws_DdM2k32c


	5. temper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanya is nine years old and sometimes her emotions are too much for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love all your comments 🤩also im planning to have hazel and cha cha as really bad babysitters and its gonna be hilarious, also stay tuned if you wanna see dave, eudora, patrick (yes ik) , and KENNY. what else was i gonna say? idk anyways stream sweater weather

“Move over!”

“Can we watch something else? Please!”

“Klaus get your feet off of me! MOM!”

Vanya grimaced. Her sibling’s bickering was like metal to her ears, and it made her headache. They had been trying to decide on a movie to watch for the past five minutes. Luther dangled the remote over Diego’s head, and yelped when it was snatched away by Ben. Five pouted.

“This is ridiculous. You are  _ all _ ridiculous. Let’s just watch National Geographic.”

“No!” Allison shrieked, and Vanya clamped her hands over her ears and sunk her teeth into her bottom lip.  
**_Please please please just shut up please i just need_**

Klaus, who was sitting next to her on the couch, was bouncing his knee. It was shaking the seat and Vanya could feel it, feel it in her skull.

“Guys..” She croaked out, but came out as a whisper. Nobody was paying attention. Tears brimmed in her eyes.  _ Nobody listens, they never listen, always talk, and god it's so loud and so annoying. _

She felt rage boiling in her chest. Her face was red hot and the tag in her shirt was bothering her and she was tired and it was so warm in this room, and in her lungs, and she was burning, Vanya was burning alive and she was going to explode. 

“ **SHUT UP!** ” she screamed, and she wasnt what happened next but suddenly six faces were staring back at her, silently, in open mouthed shock. And the remote was across the room, and the batteries had been ripped out and hurled at the wall. And she was shaking.

“Vanya?” Grace poked her head into the living room. Vanya opened her mouth to speak but all she could manage was choked sobs.  _ That’s odd,  _ she noted, with a kind of detached horror.  _ Why can’t I speak? Why am I crying? It’s over now, it’s quiet, so why am I still crying? _

Grace pulled Vanya outside into the cool night air and they sat on the porch steps.

A breeze brushed lightly against her skin. It was nice. Vanya played with the ends of her bright blue Gymboree T-shirt. After a moment, Grace sighed.

“Sweetheart, what happened back there?” She looked at Vanya, who sniffed and wiped her face. “You’re not in trouble, I promise.”

Vanya tapped her fingers rhythmically on her knee, self soothing. “I got mad.” She whispered. “It was so loud, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and nobody-” she hiccuped “Nobody was listening to me.” Grace nodded, trying to understand.

“Mom, sometimes, I feel so angry and I can’t.... I just blow up. I don’t know why, and I’m sorry, and I didn’t-”

Grace put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, honey, I’m not mad. There are things we can do...to work on that, okay? Breathing exercises, and things like that. Here.” She said, pulling her daughter into a hug. “Inhale,” She whispered, “And exhale.”

“I love you.” Vanya mumbled into her chest.

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come hang with me on tumblr @tua-koffee
> 
> if you like my writing but you think it'd be funnier if it was just full on crackhead jokes, check out the texting fic i have.


End file.
